My dad used to drive a 90 F-150 lariat. It was a nice truck. 5.0l, regular cab and power everything. Had 2 fuel tanks, each around 12-14 gallons I believe. Sure it took alot to fill it up, but it had a good range to it.

That's what I want for my truck. I'm currently getting about 16.5 in the city (better than my 3.0) and around 17-18 on the highway. That gives me a range of around 240-250 miles in the city. I would love to get something around 400 miles per fillup. That would make it worthwhile I think.

I know space is limited under the bed, but I wonder if anyone ever entertained the idea of a 2nd gas tank. Sure it would be a good bit of fabrication for a fuel line switch, T- Connector, electronics for the gauge, and so on. Maybe even just make it a fuel cell in the bed under a tonneau cover.

The more I think about it, the more unpractical it seems, but has anyone else even considered such a mod?

 

I thought about it at one time, but it's impractical as you mentioned. The exhaust takes up the right side, so there's really no room under the truck. Fuel injection means high pressure lines, which are a bear to bend and route correctly. It's far more difficult then it was to install a second tank on earlier carburated trucks.

 

Sadly it does seem too much work. But my dad's truck was EFI. I was thinking maybe if I could find an old Ranger with dual gas tanks, then it might be possible. But then it's all about real estate under the bed. In my head I think there has got to be room, and there is, just not all continuously available in one chunk.

 

Just swap in a 32 gallon fuel cell in or under the bed, problem solved. :D

 

Wasn't the only way you got dual tanks in the old Rangers if you had the long, 7' box?! I thought I remembered that was the case.. I'm no expert, but there really doesn't seem to be an excess of space under there!

 

We had a Conversion Van with twin fuel-tanks. Had a little electric switch under the dash to switch. I got a kick out of it when iw as a kid.

 

....a bunch of fuel cells in the bed....

 

If you decide to try this, make sure you don't mount it too close to the rear axle. In my research about the Crown Vic rear brakes, I found many articles about the Vic gas tank rupturing in a rear-end colission because the tank is too close to the rear axle.

Also, older EFI systems used lower fuel pressure than today's systems. More along the lines of 7-10psi like a carb instead of 45-50psi like we see today.

 

I don't think I'll try this anytime soon. I was just entertaining my brain.... but it's something to think about next time you visit a junkyard.

 

another thing you may want to check are the laws on in-bed mounted fuel tanks, most laws do not allow fuel being stored in the bed to be used in the vehicle. i dont pretend to know much about the laws but ive heard about it before

you could take out the spare and maybe put a fuel cell under there, if you really wanted to do it

 

older effies with dual tanks are usually 16 gallon for the side tank and 18 or 19 for the rear. also, the only older EFI that used the lower pressure was the TBI chevies. all ford EFIs were higher pressure. my 300 is 45-60 psi for example. u'll also need the switch and theres a device (name slips me at the moment) that switches tanks and stops the tanks from bleeding off to each other.

IMO, get a larger fuel tank and be done with it. dual tanks are nice except when it comes time to fill them (trust me)

oh and this is all from experience becuase well...i happen to own a tuck with dual tanks :-D

 

Just get a tank from a bronco II or an old Ranger and bolt it in. The bed still has provisions for the filler neck, you just have to put a hole in the side to get to the filler neck. You have to move the spare into the bed just like the old Rangers had it with the dual tank option.

 

Currently a tank of gas only lasts me two weeks in my truck and I drive it only to and from school, the engine has something wrong with it, or the gauges.

 

Time has nothing to do with gas milage. Supercab trucks should have 19 gallon tanks (someone correct me if wrong) So if you gauges say you are empty, but you only fill up 12 gallons or so, then you know the gauge is off.

To calculate your gas milage, you must fill up your tank each time. You also must use your tripmeter to record the milage per fill up. Then it's simple division to determine your actual MPG.

 

okay....as mentioned, some gen 1 trucks came with the dual tank option (my friend has one with a 3" BL and 31" MT's)...so, if you wanted to do this, you could always use a BII tank, which is mounted after the axle, and use an older ranger or F-150 tank-switching system.....

 

There is no way to tell if something is wrong unless you actually calculate your gas mileage. Next time you get gas, reset the trip odometer. Then when you get gas again, record the mileage on the trip odometer and record how many gallons of gas the truck takes. Divide miles driven by gallons used. Do this three times to get a more accurate MPG average.

 

Do this every fillup and keep a log. ... You'll still be guessing!

 

I just do mine in my head... lol
I get it within .5mpg everytime.

Rand

 

Ok... I will TRY to remember to do that, since I have to fill it up anyway soon... But i think my Gauges are off... cause one time I filled the tank and the gauge didn't move... until 3 days later... my oil gauge is broke... it stays to the right and my water stays at the cold... I reset the computer and done the same thing... grr.. I hate to go to Ford to get raped on this...

 

Those aren't real guages anyway so I wouldn't worry about it.